Monday, July 5th, 2010—Bar 176

Day 176—Sunday, July 4th, 2010
67 Orange Street
Okay, it’s the Fourth of July, most people don’t have to work tomorrow, which means it could be a little nutty tonight. And we all know how much I like crowded bars, not at all. Luckily, I got some insider information that a bar uptown in Harlem should be on the quiet side and I can enjoy my Sunday drinks in peace. And the reason this person knows is that she bartends there on Sunday nights. I met Marise last Wednesday at the Library. She was really nice and when she offered to take her top off for the photo I just about dropped my camera and every guy within earshot just about sprained their necks. I turns out she meant her sweater, but it was still a great bar crawl moment. She tends bar at a place called 67 Orange St. It’s way uptown in Harlem and it's going to be a bit of a journey, but since it’s a holiday, I’m not going to sweat it out on the subway. TAXI!

Well, that was easy enough.

And we're off.

And here we are, 67 Orange St.

And here she is, bottle in hand, the beautiful and friendly Marise!

Here she is posing at the bar. This is a really nice place.

And seated next to me is a friendly fellow who's name is...get this...Marty! it's dueling Marty's at 67 Orange St. Happy 4th of July.

The three of us have a holiday shot. Cheers!

There's candle lit tables opposite the bar.

And a small little lounge area downstairs to chill out in.

I decide to have four holiday drinks in here to celebrate the 4th of July. Marise mixes the first one which is called Ben Down. Which makes me think of the old blues quote, "I been down so long it looks like up to me." Or something like that.

And here's the finished product.

It's delicious! Marise is a talented mixologist!

Drink number two is a dirty martini, because that's what the other Marty is drinking.

We decided to name the drinks: "Dirty Martytini's." Cheers!

And now these two lovely women have joined the Martyfest. My problem here is I forgot to write down their names. I think they're names are Sarah and Michelle. But the booze is starting to kick in and I could be wrong. If you're reading this and I'm wrong ladies, please correct me in the comments section.

Here's drink number three.

And drink number four!

Happy fourth and thanks to Marise for being such a friendly and lovely bartender! A great night on the bar crawl for sure.

Check out the bathroom, it's superfly.

Crack is wack!

And the obligatory bathroom mirror shot. Goodnight, everybody!

Review
67 Orange Street is an intimate, dark, smooth and sexy little joint uptown in Harlem. The horseshoe bar seats about a half dozen and there’s candle lit tables opposite and an intimate downstairs lounge. The bartenders and staff are friendly and music is played at a level that you can enjoy, yet still be able to converse over. The walls are brick and the lighting is low, which is the way it should be.

This is a cocktail bar and the list of signature drinks is impressive. Some of them include: A Side By Side Car which is Landy cognac VS, green chartreuse, cointreau, fresh lemon and pineapple juice; A Cherry Pisco Sweet which mixes basol pisco grape brandy, cherry kijafa, fresh lemon juice, egg white and sugar into one delicious cocktail; The Baxter Street which is right gin, zen green tea liqueur, soho lychee liqueur, green tea and lemon juice and if you’ve got a sweet tooth, try out the La Josephine whiich is cafe boheme liqueur, 99 bananas liqueur and a dollop of whipped cream. There’s also a food menu available and some of the bites include: Deviled Eggs, Orange Roasted Duck Leg, Buffalo Sliders and Beef Ribs.

The name 67 Orange St. is taken from the address of Almack’s, one of New York City’s first black-owned and operated taverns. The spirit and spirits live on here. Cheers!

67 Orange Street
2082 Frederick Douglass Blvd. (At 113th St.)
212-662-2030